Family of twelve
by vballgrl4life2
Summary: What happens when there's 12 kids in one family, and suddenly their Mom gets cancer? found out here!
1. Chapter 1

Being one of my family is an experience in itself. A There are twelve of us kids. The oldest, Katrina, has three kids of her own. Katrina is 26, Michelle is 20, Alorah and Kenny are 18, Catherine and Jessica are 16, my twin Mark and me, Amelia are 14, Caroline is 13 Joseph and Andrew are 10, and Jennifer is boys like skateboarding as does Caroline. Caroline is a total tomboy. Where as Catherine, Jessica, and Alorah are more into looks and makeup. Jennifer is the shy one in the dozen and is often seen clinging to my father's leg. When I got home from school, I was the first one home. Being home alone is an accomplishment when you live with thirteen other people. My Mom and Jennifer were at the doctor, Caroline and the boys were at their friend's house, Catherine, Jessica, and Alorah were shopping with a group of their friends, and Mark was at basketball practice. I would have been at practice too, but my coach was sick. I said hi to my cat and sat down to do my homework. When my Mom came home she sent all of us to our room's so she could talk to my Dad. I went up to my room, finished my homework, and my Dad called us down for a family meeting. Normally in a family meeting everyone talks. But this time my Dad did the talking. "I need all of you to help me out a little more since your Mother no longer can" he told us. "Why can't she?" Michelle asked. "Well she has cancer." He told us. The house immediately turned chaotic. Mark looked at me and when our eyes met, we fell silent. We both knew yelling and carrying on wouldn't help our situation. Nothing would. I ran up to my room and cried. Later on I heard everyone else going up to bed. My Mom came in and sat down on my bed. I put my head on her shoulder and we cried together. The next day she had to go to the hospital for some tests and they decided to keep her for more tests and treatment. But there was a dilemma. Only two visitors were allowed to see her at a time. Each of us got to see her alone on a certain day. My day was Saturday. When it finally came around I was praying I didn't have the same luck as Mark. My Mom had been asleep the entire time Mark had been there. The hospital smelled like medicine mixed with puke. I went up to her room and quietly opened the door. I almost screamed. That wasn't my Mother! But it was. Her blond hair was gone and her eyes were closed. She opened them as I sat down. "Hey Sweetie" she said her voice sounded muffled and was painful to listen to. "Hi Mom" I said as my voice cracked. "I uh gotta go see um" I stammered and quickly left the room. I stood in the hallway outside her room and contained myself before going back in. "How long do you have to stay here?" I asked her "Until and if I get better" she told me. I felt a tear roll down my face. So I guess you'll see Caroline tomorrow huh?" I asked trying to change the subject. "Yeah but you're still my sunshine. Always have been always will be" she told me I smiled at her. All of a sudden my Dad stuck his head in "Time to go!" he said. My Mom smiled lightly at him. I gave her a hug and left. The next few days were hectic art my house. Everyone now knew what was going on with my Mom. About a week later the phone rang. "I got it!" I yelled. "Hello?" "Hi Sunshine!" my Mom's familiar voice answered. I ran into my room and collapsed into my bean bag chair. "Hey Mom!!!" I said ecstatically. "How's everything over at the zoo?" she asked. "Oh same old same old. " I told her. "Ok well than is your Father there?" she inquired. "Hold on a sec" I told her "DAD!" I yelled. "Amelia you almost gave me a heart attack!" my Dad said coming up behind me. I jumped "Sorry phone's for you" I told him handing him the phone. Here's the side of the conversation I heard, "Hello? Oh hi Kate!! Oh no really? Ok I'll be… Hello? Hello?" "We need to go to the hospital." He told me urgently. I had no idea what to expect at the hospital. What happened was the last thing I expected. We went up to her room. But she was gone! My Dad asked a nurse in the hallway where she was. "Oh she dropped into a comma about a half an hour ago." She told us "Can we see her?" my Dad inquired. "Third floor in the lab." she told us. "But you're wasting your time" she added. The lab? It sounded like my mother was some sort of science experiment! Well she sure looked like one. All of the wires inserted in her arms made me sick. That was the last time I saw her in three months. My Dad always went to the hospital alone. One day he came home smiling. "Great news she woke up today she's getting better!!" he told us. We all started cheering. The next news we heard was that she had had another chemo treatment and was doing worse. I was devastated. My admired mother was falling apart and there was nothing I could do about it. And I hated it. The next day at basketball practice my coach was yelling at me for missing the game the day I had gone to see my Mother and I almost slapped her. Afterwards I stayed back to shoot baskets. I was so angry it was more like trying to dent the backboard. Mark showed up and tried to calm me down but was unsuccessful. When we got home there was a note on the counter saying that everyone else had gone to the hospital. My cat tried to rub against my leg and I kicked. I was infuriated. When they got home my Dad said "Your Mom's coming home tomorrow. She still needs her rest and can't have any noise. Got it?" Every family member except Mark and I had seen her recently. They would have no problem leaving her alone. I refused to go pick her up the next day so I stayed home with Jennifer. At around three o'clock Jennifer went running downstairs yelling "MOMMY, MOMMY!!!!!!!" But I stayed in my room. I heard them bring her upstairs, heard her calling my name, but ignored her. I needed some space. I stayed in my room for a week straight. Mark brought me food every so often but he was the only sign of civilization I saw for that week. When I decided to come out I went to see my Mom. I ignored the "Do Not Enter" sign written in red crayon on her door and went in. She was asleep so I sat down in the desk chair next to her bed and cried. She woke up about ten minutes after I got there. Her piercing blue eyes scared me. She looked up at me and her eyes filled up with tears. "Amelia," she began. I had lost her love. I left the room. "Sweetheart, My Sunshine" her voice echoed in my ears. She would probably never call me them again. She had trusted me and I had lost her trust. When I got back to my room I found Mark sitting on my bed looking through my childhood scrapbook. "What's up with Mom?" I asked him. "Well the nurse says she's losing her memory. She didn't even remember DAD the other day." He told me. I gasped "she's getting worse and there's nothing any of us can do about it." He finished. I cried myself to sleep that night. I had been terrible to her and I knew it. The next morning I found another note on the counter "back to the hospital will be home soon" it said. My Dad came home around noon and his eyes were red. "Well she almost didn't make it" he told us. "They have her on oxygen and are giving her a week to live." He finished breathlessly. Well the doctors were wrong. Eight months went by with not much change. Than my Dad came home crying again. I about had a heart attack when he walked through the front door. "She's going to be fine" he said. I felt my heart thumping faster. "She woke up and even asked about you guys!" he told us. "When can we see her?" asked Alorah. "Well if we go now you can all see her for five to ten minutes?" He said "Than lets go!" said Catherine matter-of-factly. I was nervous so volunteered to go last. When I went up to her room she looked up at me. "Hey Mom" I said nervously. "Hello Amelia"she replied. So much for her 'sunshine'. I sat down feeling a tear rolling down my face. "I've seen everyone else. Why did you wait to be last?' she asked. I blushed "Don't want to talk about it?" she asked reading my thoughts. I smiled at her glad to be understood. "I'm sorry I was so terrible to you" I blurted out. "Oh sweetie I see the same attitude in you as I had when I was your age." She told me. "I guess I got ticked off because Dad wouldn't let me see you and every time I snuck in you were asleep." I admitted. She laughed. It was great to hear her laugh. It was like hearing a long lost friend's voice after years of wanting to. The beeper went off. I had to go. I gave her a hug and left. This time with my heart lightened. Over the next few weeks I went to see her everyday after basketball practice. I was the only one there when she tried walking for the first time and when she finally accomplished it. She still isn't 100% better and probably never will be. I'm just happy she's alive. After all when you live in a family of fourteen, everyone looks out for each other. My Mom just needed to know we were looking out for her too.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jennifer, can you just stop complaining for five minutes?" my dad was saying to my now twelve year old sister. "But ocean water is SO bad for my hair!" she protested. Hi it's me, Amelia again and in case you can't tell we are going to the ocean. Ever since Jennifer turned ten she's been freaking out about her looks and make-up. It's getting SO old. She was the only one of us that that went to public school since the public school in the neighborhood just opened last year. I just recently graduated collage. I was in my dorm packing when the phone rang. My friend Elizabeth and my boyfriend David were with me. "Hey Amelia you're on speaker!" was the way my dad answered the phone. "So are you with Liz and Dave!" I responded "so what's up?" I asked them. "We're thinking of going to the beach next week and stay in the Grand hotel. What do you guys think of coming?" my dad asked. "We're in" David and I said simultaneously." I can't my family is going to South Carolina to see my grandmother." Liz said quietly. We left the next day and when we got to my house, found my whole family packing. We left the next day. We were all worried with my mom just recently recovering from cancer. When we got to the hotel we all called rooms. There is a rule in my family that says no members of the opposite sexes are allowed to sleep in the same room except my parents. I ended up getting a room with Caroline, Jennifer, Catherine, and Jessica. David was in a room with Kenny, Joseph, Andrew, and Mark. This was fine with him because he and Mark are best friends. After I unpacked I went to find my mother because I hadn't seen her, the entire trip. I found her lying on her bed looking through an old photo album. "Hey Mom!" I said. She turned around "oh hey Sunshine!" she replied. "How are you feeling?" I asked her. "Oh I don't know a little tired. But not that that's abnormal." I sat down next to her. She was looking at a picture of the whole family at the ocean the last time we had came. Jennifer wasn't even one yet and my mom wasn't sick. She has cancer and her hair is just starting to grow back. It's down to her shoulders but before chemo it was about three times longer. "Do you feel up to taking a walk down to the beach with me?" I asked her. "Sure! Why not?" she replied "Just let me change into shoes that are actually waterproof that I can walk in" she said slipping off her new high heals. I laughed. 'I'll get your flip-flops" I told her. When I got them I caught her staring at me. "What is my hair a wreck?" I asked her. "Oh no. Sorry Sweetie. It's just my little girl is all grown up and I barely get to see you anymore." She said as we walked down to the beach. "I really like being able to spend time with you now that you're done with collage." She finished. I swiftly changed the subject "How does it feel to have the wind rippling through your hair?" I asked her. "Absolutely Marvelous!" she replied. We walked back to the hotel holding hands and not talking. I could tell she was out of breath from talking so much. When we got back to the hotel she went to lie down and I went to find David. I found him standing outside my room. "Oh there you are!" he said "I was just looking for you!" he told me. "Do you want to take a walk?" he finally asked. "Sure!" I replied. We walked along the beach letting the waves brush in between our toes. "I um have a little something for you. "He told me. We stopped walking and he slipped a ring onto my finger and proposed to me right there on the beach. We walked for a few minutes in silence. "Well we'd better head back or they'll worry" he said breaking the silence." Alright" I said and we did. When we finally got back we found my whole family running around like crazy maniacs. I finally got Jennifer to calm down long enough to tell me what was going on. "Mom collapsed and we're waiting for the ambulance to get here" "Where is she?" I asked her. "In her room" was the response I got before she dashed off to find my father. David and I ran upstairs. She was lying on her bed talking randomly to no one in particular. I held her hand and told her "Mom I'm right here you're going to be fine" and she fell silent. The paramedics rushed in and brought her to the ambulance. My dad caught sight of the ring and raised his eyebrow at me. I nodded. "I'm going to follow the ambulance with Mark, David and Caroline" I told him. "Alright and I'll follow you with everyone else." He said. We waited in the waiting room all night playing cards and chatting. I was doing Jennifer's hair. We were all nervous and were trying to keep our minds off topic. When I finished Jennifer's hair David and I took a walk and he bought me a Snapple. "I'm sorry about your mom' he said "yeah Thanks I guess I'm kind of used to it by now. It's not the first time she's collapsed since she had her lung removed. She just runs out of air and passes out." I told him. "Amelia your mother is asking for you" my dad said coming up behind us. "Alright what room and floor? " I asked him. "336 4th floor" he responded. Hey Mom how are you feeling?" I asked her as I went in her room. "Better" she admitted. Her eyes moved to the ring on my finger. "Oh Honey really?" she asked excitedly. "Yeah he asked me last night on the beach" I told her. "Oh Honey you are growing up far too fast. "She told me. "I remember when you were like Jennifer used to be clinging to my legs for dear life. And then," "you blinked?" I interrupted. "I blinked she said and smiled at me. " I'd better go David's probably having a heart attack out in the waiting room worrying about you" I joked. "Ok. Listen thanks for coming." She said." Of course! What are families for?" I asked. "See ya" she said winking at me. "Yeah see ya" I told her. "How is she doing?" David asked with concern. "She'll be fine she always is. I told him. Once she was better we went home. About a week later we decided to plan the wedding for the next summer. Then my mom collapsed again. Only this time she didn't get up and keep going. She stayed down. We knew her time was up before it was. She was hallucinating and talking to people who weren't even there. It was scary. But as my dad told me, "If her time's up it's for a reason. She's had a good life and all of you kids are older now and can take care of yourselves so she knows she can let go." I knew he was right. But I still stayed by her side for 96 hours straight. David was with me when she finally breathed her last and I was happy he was because I probably couldn't have handled it otherwise. I cried hysterically but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I knew she was in a better place and all of her pain was gone. Her funeral was the worst day of my entire life. I needed all of the comfort I could get so I was again glad for David. We bought an apartment right down the road from my house and moved after our 3rd child to a place in the country. My Dad joined my mom last year after getting involved with a terrible accident with a tractor trailer truck. It was awful but knowing my mom now had company and wasn't all alone in heaven made it all seem better. Right now we have six kids half way to our goal of twelve just like my family. We want our kids to be able to say "when you live in a family of fourteen, everyone watches out for each other"


End file.
